


ss sunrise

by 8bitorange



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Nostalgia, One Shot, Unbeta'd???, a lot of stuff in the LL tag is smut so i'll write my own fluff lmao, formatting might be wonky, no honorifics, pls take my pure kanamaris i wrote this at midnight on a monday, still figuring it out!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-02-05 07:03:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12789342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/8bitorange/pseuds/8bitorange
Summary: The best days, Mari had decided, were the ones she could remember in near perfect detail.OrMari looks back on the moment she just might have fallen in love with Kanan.





	ss sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this is the first one-shot i've ever posted, so here goes nothing!
> 
> thanks for reading!!! i hope you like it!!!

The best days, Mari had decided, were the ones she could remember in near perfect detail.

It began in the early years of middle school, right around when Kanan was really getting into diving. Just before the sunrise, Kanan’s flashlight had snuck its way through the balcony doors and reflected off of Mari’s vanity just enough to wake up her without the sleeping mask she’d rather be caught dead without now. Mari had stumbled to the balcony with the haze of sleep willing her to just turn back around, but the sight of Kanan with the soft rays of what would soon be a sunrise behind her was enough incentive to stay. She was clad in a swim top and jean shorts, a duffle bag thrown over her shoulder, and long hair tied into a sloppy ponytail she’d no doubt done without her mother’s help. 

“Come on! We’re going to miss it!” Kanan had beamed, waving her flashlight at Mari from the fountain.

“It’s five in the morning,” she yelled back through a yawn. “The only thing I’m missing is my bed.”

Kanan’s retort had consisted of an onslaught of “please” and “pretty please,” coupled with the puppy dogs eyes Mari was too far away see, but had won her over anyway. Things were simpler then. Mari threw on the first outfit she’d seen, tousled her hair in the mirror, and not-so-gingerly snuck her way out of the house- it was the first time, but certainly not the last.

She was met at the back door by an overly excited Kanan who was eagerly grabbing at her hands to pull her into a sprint towards the main road. She was too young then to appreciate the way Kanan made a long walk into a short adventure, how she effortlessly filled the air with stories of what she’d learned at the docks the other day, or how long she could hold her breath the last time she measured, or how she’d finally learned how to tie up her own hair. It was times like these when Mari would do nothing but listen, not even realizing that she wasn’t sure where they were even heading. 

They had arrived at the docks just before the sun had peeked out from behind the mountain tops. Kanan took the “borrowed” keys out from her pocket and pulled Mari onto one of the old boats put out of commission that she was “practically a pro” at sailing. 

“Are you sure you’re allowed to do this?” Mari had asked, but there wasn’t any doubt in the abilities of the self-appointed captain of the soon-to-be-titled SS Sunrise. 

Kanan didn’t answer. Instead, she concentrated on steering the boat until their view was of two mountain peaks and an untouched night sky. The motor was then turned off, and Kanan had disappeared underneath the deck only to reemerge in her signature purple diving suit she’d gotten for Christmas that past year. 

“You’re gonna dive? Right now? Kanan, nobody is around-” Mari almost let the apprehension get the best of her. 

“I’ll be fine!” standing on the bow, Kanan’s voice was muffled slightly by the waves as she vanished into the dark blue of the water below. Before she had had time to say anything in response, the sight of a dark haired ponytail bobbing in the water had pulled Mari’s attention starboard. “See! I’m alright!” Little hands gripped the ladder on the side of the boat, bringing Kanan face to face with a less than excited Mari. “Now, look!” 

Kanan swam out a few feet, and Mari had then realized why she'd been dragged out of her house at five in the morning. Rays of the morning sun had slowly dripped over the mountains, illuminating the ocean with an unforgettable sparkle. The blue of the night sky had faded to the soft glow of yellow and pink, with puffs of clouds letting stray light dance its way towards the water. Faint waves crashed against the shore in the distance while the sun centered itself between the two peaks, spreading the mesmerizing radiance throughout the horizon- and Kanan. Kanan, who was treading water a yard or so from Mari’s reach, wasn’t looking at the sunrise at all. She was turned, back to the sun, watching Mari as if the most beautiful display wasn’t unfolding right before her eyes. She smiled, brighter than the sunrise itself, and made her way back to the ladder once the sun had risen above the mountain tops. 

The ride back to the docks was one of pleasant silence, a comfortable change from earlier that morning. Kanan had draped her unused towel over Mari’s shoulders despite a half-awake protest from the latter. Mari had spent the time flitting in and out of sleep with knees pulled to her chest, yet making all the effort to stay awake for Kanan’s sake. She needed to thank her, to ask her if they could do this again, to find out how she knew today would be the perfect day, to tell her how much she loved everything in that moment- before and after included. There was so much to tell her, but there were some things Mari couldn’t put words to just yet.

The memory of the walk home is fuzzy now. She remembers silence until she had thanked Kanan in breathless awe, but anything said besides that had been lost throughout the years. Looking back at it now, Mari knows she remembered the important parts. 

“Kanan?” Mari whispered, her head on Kanan’s shoulder with her feet dangling from the same balcony that started everything all those years ago. 

Kanan hummed in response, drawing her coffee cup closer to her chest in an attempt to battle the cold of an early winter morning.

“Do you remember the first time we did this?” her fingers twisted in the blanket draped over their laps. The words came out slow, heavy with sleep and full of the emotions they so easily danced around.

“Of course I do.” 

“Things were so different.” 

Kanan’s shoulders shook with hushed laughter. “My hair looked awful. I trusted you guys and you let me walk around with a bird’s nest on my head.” 

Mari nudged her, making no attempt to hide her smile. “It was cute. At least you tried your best.” When the gentle laughter of nostalgia died down, silence fell between them.

“I know what you mean,” said Kanan after a while. “It was easy. Not that now isn’t, it was just… different.” 

“I’m glad we do this. It’s-” Mari fumbled, at a loss for the description she could never truly pin.

“Calm.” Kanan had finished for her. 

“Yeah, it’s calm.” a free hand was intertwined with another just as the sun made its way above the snowy peak. Mari looked on with the same youthful amazement she had some 8 odd years ago. 

Kanan, however, was turned towards Mari. She watched the light of new sunshine cascade over golden hair, the glowing sky reflecting in hazel eyes, and the look of pure awe wash over the face of the girl beside her, which she decided long, long ago challenged any sunrise she’d ever seen. 

Sitting on the balcony with the bars obscuring the slightest bit of the spectacle was a reminder that it was a new view, a new perspective of the show before them, but it was always the same sun, and that gave Mari all the hope she needed. 

The best days, she decided, weren’t the ones in memory, but the ones to come. There will always be another sunrise, and she'll always be up to watch it.


End file.
